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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
• "Is that email a scam?" - Check it online here!
  
• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
  (+225 +229 +234 +27 +31 +32 +34 +44 other)
• Company names mentioned in 419 spam:
  1 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
• Support our efforts to stop scams!
  
• How to report 419 spam to us
• What can you do when you receive 419 spam
  
  
• Spam archive, Daily index
  

Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

Click here to report a problem with this page.

Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• This email message is a fake lottery scam. Consider the following facts about real lotteries:
  
  1. They don't notify winners by email.
  2. You can't win without first buying a lottery ticket.
  3. They don't randomly select email addresses to award prizes to.
  4. They don't use free email accounts (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) to communicate with you.
  5. They don't tell you to call a mobile phone number.
  6. They don't tell you to keep your winnings secret.
  7. They will never ask a winner to pay any fees to receive a prize!
• This email lists mobile phone numbers. Use of such numbers is typical for scams because they allow criminals to conceal their true location. They can receive calls in an Internet cafe from where they send you emails, while pretending to be in some office.
  • +447024095412 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)
  • +448704781992 (UK, redirects to a mobile phone in another country)

Fraud email example:

From: agentrexs101@aim.com
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2006 06:22:37 -0400
Subject: Claims Verification


Attention: Dear Winner

This office is in receipt of your message as Instructed by our accounts
department. In line with our regulations, you are advised to provide
the following information;

1. Full Names
2. Address
3. Tel And fax #(if Any)
4. Date of birth
5. Country of origin
6. Marital status
7. Sex
8. Occupation
9. Reference No
10. Category
11. Amount Won

This is necessary for verification and hence, processing of your
winnings.

Due to the mix up of some numbers and names, we ask that you keep this
award strictly from public notice until your claim has been processed
and your money remitted to your account. This is part of our security
protocol to avoid double claiming or unscrupulous acts by participants
of this program
Once again, congratulations.

Regards,
Mr. Rex Smith
Claims Officer
Tel:+44-7024095412 (8am-6pmGMT Mon-Fri)
Fax:+44-8704781992
________________________________________________________________________
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Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam